The Thunder really need to bounce back and clear the disappointment of New Year’s Eve from their minds. And great news! They’re playing the Nets tonight. Defensively, the Thunder have been solid without Russell Westbrook, but where they’ve been inconsistent is on the offensive end. And the Nets come in ranked last in basically every defensive category.

Where the Nets can be dangerous is with some hot shooting like Joe Johnson hitting seven 3s or Deron Williams remembering how good he once was, but for the most part, this is a broken team that is old, slow and mostly disgruntled.

This had the looks of being a marquee matchup before the season started, but with stars out and the Nets disappointing, now it’s a game the Thunder simply need to handle, wipe their hands of and move on to the next one.

Brooklyn coming in: Got rolled by the Spurs on Tuesday

Three Big Things

1. Play fast. The Thunder need to get into the open court more, create easy opportunities and crank up the tempo of the game on the Nets. They’ve been playing slower without Westbrook and where the Thunder can be most dynamic is in transition. Durant, Jackson and others need some easy looks to get going.

2. 3-point line. The Nets are probably going to try and level this game by taking and making a bunch of 3s. The Nets are 21st in 3s attempted a game, making 7.4. But in a game like this, they need extra points and they probably won’t be shy.

3. Help. KD wants to play his game. He doesn’t want to do too much. But in order for him to do that, he’s got to get necessary help. Serge Ibaka needs to score, Reggie Jackson needs to create both for himself and others, an the bench needs to produce.

Who is the guy that MAKES SURE we win games we are supposed to as opposed to playing down to our opponent. The guy who is gonna be yelling at everyone to not let up and step on their throats. The guy who is gonna get pissed off when players don't shoot open looks. The guy who is gonna play his fucking heart out and demand everyone else do the same.

Brooks is great at developing talent, I'm not calling for his job but it's a fair criticism to say that his game management stinks. He gets credit for developing the transcendent talent of Westbrook and Durant but if you just look at the game, our offense sucks, we have one of the worst systems in the league. His choice of rotations is inexcusable, Perkins shouldn't even be on an NBA roster. This roster is no where near maximizing its talent and that goes on Brooks.

@Julius F Wrek@FF_pickups It just seems like the system we have in place. Durant and Westbrook work their asses off and the other young players have no choice but to follow suit. The coaching staff plays a big part too, but I don't have a single doubt that if we replaced Scott Brooks that our players would continue to develop.

@Julius F Wrek You may be right but I think that the lifeblood of our team is player development. But if you want a coach to coach your team for the next four quarters, Brooks is in the bottom five in the NBA.

@35 4 MVP We have Westbrook and Durant. I could coach Westbrook and Durant. Brooks doesn't help them score, they don't need help. Brooks is supposed to help optimize the role players which he does a horrible job.

@FF_pickups@35 4 MVPI agree. I hate how he rides Fisher and Perk for the sake of being veterans. Just because they've had experience doesn't mean shit when they can't produce. They can coach easily on the bench where they belong. I'm not quite as mad about Fisher now that he's our backup, but when he pulls this shit with Reggie and Westbrook on the bench, it just pisses me off.

A lot of his career is off of developing young players yet he refuses to do it this season. Why?

@35 4 MVP@Tvaddic@FF_pickups The bench averaged 31.14 pts per game in the past 7 without Westbrook which is only 3.16 points less than our season average and we are missing our leading bench scorer. It's not the offense we just can't adjust when teams don't let Durant beat them, either the other guys lose confidence or Durant forces shots whenever he has any sort of look.

For the first time since the NCG against Florida...it felt like Oklahoma football. Other than winning the national championship...it doesn't get any better. Just a great accomplishment for the players and coaches. Who would have thought this team would win at Notre Dame, at O State and over Alabama in New Orleans? Kind of get a feeling this will kick start recruiting and the next three to four years will be special. Just a beautiful football game.

Serious question, has this guy ever called out Derek Fisher, Thabo, or Perkins for bad play?

Dude was making a big deal of Lamb taking an open shot, leaving time on the clock with the shotclock off. Big deal man. Our offense was rolling with Lamb in there, don't make our team suffer the whole 4th just because he made one mistake. Take some accountability for running shit lineups out there and not giving KD any help and just putting the ball in his hands and expecting him to do everything. That was the most upset I've ever seen KD after a game.

I think it's time for a new coach. I don't know. I'd hate to blow it up midseason but damn Scott Brooks pisses me off. What good is the guy anymore. On losses it seems like he hurts our team more than he helps it and on wins it seems like we just win in spite of the dude. Doesn't seem like he does much good getting our team pumped up and engaged either. Our talent makes him look like way better of a coach than he is.

@simonwayne I love the first paragraph but I don't want a new coach. It's unbelievably annoying how if our newbies make one mistake, they get benched immediately but Perkins is allowed to play despite making 27 mistakes per game.

Honestly if we don't win it all this season we better fire the dude and I believe we will. He brings almost nothing to the table from a gameday standpoint. We can find coaches like him who will do the same but at least will be rah rah guys to get our players excited.

I'm a big believer in continuity and all of that, but it's gotten to the point where the sooner we move on, the better. As long as it's the right coach. Think of Michael Jordan and the Bulls with Doug Collins. Didn't win anything until they got Phil Jackson and then they dominated the league.